Law Office of Janet L. Brewer

Law Office of Janet L. Brewer Protecting the wealth and legacy of affluent families in Silicon Valley and the Bay Area—domestic and international planning for 30+ years.

www.calprobate.com | 650 325-8276 The Law Office of Janet L. Brewer has delivered trusted estate planning services to affluent families in Silicon Valley and the Bay Area for more than 30 years. Based in Los Altos, the firm helps clients navigate legacy planning with clarity, whether their needs are local, international, or both. While the firm handles a wide range of estate planning matters, abou

t a quarter of its work involves international planning for U.S. citizens, green card holders, visa holders, non-residents with U.S. assets, and non-residents with California beneficiaries. Janet and her team design tax-efficient plans that utilize tools such as trusts and wealth transfer strategies to protect what matters most across multiple jurisdictions. As a Certified Specialist in Estate Planning, Wills, Trusts, and Probate Law by the California State Bar Board of Legal Specialization, Janet Brewer leads the firm with a commitment to clarity, confidence, and personalized service. Visit www.calprobate.com to access free planning guides in the Resource Room or to schedule a consultation.

Sometimes the right person to manage a trust isn't in the family. That's a finding, not a failure.Families live in diffe...
09/03/2026

Sometimes the right person to manage a trust isn't in the family. That's a finding, not a failure.

Families live in different time zones. Beneficiaries and the person deciding on their requests are sometimes the same small group. And one sibling is often already carrying everything — adding a decades-long trusteeship to that load deserves a decision rather than momentum.

California licenses professional fiduciaries and regulates them through a state bureau, which means this option comes with a credential you can actually verify.

More on when to look outside the family, and how to do it well. https://bit.ly/4gfhtRe

You don't have to live abroad for your estate plan to run into another country's rules.An apartment overseas. A second p...
08/31/2026

You don't have to live abroad for your estate plan to run into another country's rules.

An apartment overseas. A second passport held through a parent. A few months each winter somewhere warmer. None of that makes anyone an expatriate — and all of it can put a California document in front of an institution that was never designed to read it.

The question isn't how you'd describe yourself. It's where your assets sit, which passports you hold, and where you're likely to be if something happens.

More on what an international footprint asks of your plan. https://bit.ly/3SbsoDz

Most people choose the people in their estate plan by asking who would be hurt to be passed over. It's a fair instinct. ...
08/28/2026

Most people choose the people in their estate plan by asking who would be hurt to be passed over. It's a fair instinct. It's also the wrong question.

An executor's work is finite and administrative. A trustee's may run for decades and require saying no to a beneficiary — then holding that position through Thanksgiving. A health care agent may have the same difficult conversation repeatedly while relatives disagree.

Different jobs asking for different temperaments. Naming one person to all of them is a decision worth making on purpose.

New article on matching the role to what it actually demands. https://bit.ly/4wxPum1

Cross-border estate planning is almost always discussed as a question about death — which law governs, what passes to wh...
08/25/2026

Cross-border estate planning is almost always discussed as a question about death — which law governs, what passes to whom. But two documents in your plan exist to be used while you're alive. Your financial power of attorney and your health care directive. They're also the two most likely to be handed to a bank or a hospital in another country that has no procedure for reading them.

That's a different question, and it gets far less attention than it deserves.

New article on the lifetime half of an international plan. https://bit.ly/4wCdpR4

In a first marriage, "leave everything to my spouse" is often a sensible plan. In a blended family, it can quietly disin...
08/10/2026

In a first marriage, "leave everything to my spouse" is often a sensible plan. In a blended family, it can quietly disinherit your children — because once assets pass outright, your spouse has no legal obligation to provide for kids from a prior relationship, however sincere the promise.

There are structures designed for exactly this. Here's how remarried couples provide for a new spouse and existing children at the same time: https://bit.ly/4bB8l7U

In California, marrying after you've signed your will or trust can quietly rewrite it. A spouse who isn't named in older...
08/05/2026

In California, marrying after you've signed your will or trust can quietly rewrite it. A spouse who isn't named in older documents may be entitled to a share of your estate by statute — no matter what those documents say. Most people encounter the omitted spouse rule only after it's too late to plan around it.

This month we're looking at how wills, trusts, and marital agreements each do a different job — and why treating one as a substitute for another leaves gaps. See how the three fit together: https://bit.ly/44Gpn0E

A cabin on the Nevada side of Tahoe. A rental in Arizona. Real estate answers to the laws of the state where it sits — w...
08/03/2026

A cabin on the Nevada side of Tahoe. A rental in Arizona. Real estate answers to the laws of the state where it sits — which can mean a separate probate proceeding in every state where you own property. One court process quietly becomes two or three.
There's a reason trust-based planning suits families whose lives cross state lines. This month we look at planning when your family, and your property, span more than one state. Here's what you need to know >> https://bit.ly/4pGYOlK.

"The house is mine — I bought it before we married." In California, it may not be that simple. When mortgage payments co...
07/30/2026

"The house is mine — I bought it before we married." In California, it may not be that simple. When mortgage payments come from earnings during the marriage, the community can acquire an interest in a home one spouse brought to it. After years together, what's truly yours to leave isn't always what you assume.

We unpack how community property rules shape your estate plan, and where a marital agreement fits in: https://bit.ly/3RNO6NB.

Your most capable child lives in Boston. Your hospital is in California. In a medical crisis, a health care agent often ...
07/24/2026

Your most capable child lives in Boston. Your hospital is in California. In a medical crisis, a health care agent often needs to be in the room — meeting doctors, overseeing care, managing a discharge. Distance doesn't rule out your first choice; it changes how the plan around them should be built.

Here's how families design decision-making that works across any distance — including when a child lives abroad: https://bit.ly/4wkGj98

Your retirement account doesn't read your will. It pays whoever is named on the beneficiary form — even if that's a spou...
07/23/2026

Your retirement account doesn't read your will. It pays whoever is named on the beneficiary form — even if that's a spouse from a previous chapter of your life. After a remarriage, those overlooked forms are among the most common ways an estate plan misfires.

From beneficiary updates to trusts built for blended families, this is what a remarriage review covers >> https://bit.ly/3R3OK9C.

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4 Main Street, Suite 20
Los Altos, CA
94022

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Wednesday 9am - 5pm
Thursday 9am - 5pm
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